Messi Finally Has His Way, Martinez To Join Barcelona After Inter Milan Agree To Terms: Report

FC Barcelona can finally sign Lautaro Martinez if they meet Inter Milan’s new terms ahead of the summer transfer window.

Martinez, who is Lionel Messi’s Argentina teammate, has been heavily linked with a move to the Nou Camp side. The deal reportedly has been constantly stranded due to disagreements between the two clubs over the player’s expensive $124 million release clause.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has financially affected several soccer clubs, including Barcelona, who admitted that they cannot afford to pay $124 million for Martinez. Instead, the Catalans had offered Inter Milan a few players along with $101 million as a part of Martinez’s deal. However, the proposal was rejected by the Serie A club, who had claimed that they would not accept any bargain in their forward’s transfer. Martinez, who made his Inter Milan debut in 2018, has scored 25 goals in 67 games so far.

It was earlier reported that Martinez was prepared to force his move out of Inter Milan if the club continued to avoid his transfer to Barcelona. On the other hand, the La Liga side was under severe pressure from their captain. Messi has made himself clear that he does not see the current Barca squad win the Champions League. In order to win the prestigious trophy again, Messi reportedly has been pushing the club to sign his international teammate and Neymar this transfer window.

Luckily for Barcelona, Inter Milan have finally agreed to reduce Martinez’s transfer fee to $101 million and accept a player from Nou Camp, as proposed by the Spanish side earlier, as reported by Italian media outlet Sempreinter. While the player who would move from Barcelona to Inter Milan is yet to be decided, either of the likes of Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal, Philippe Coutinho, and Ousmane Dembele is being considered as a potential candidate for the swap deal.

It is also understood that Manchester United are willing to shell out $113 million for 17-year-old forward Ansu Fati and that deal could play a pivotal role in Martinez’s signing.

If Martinez indeed moves to Barcelona this summer, the Catalans would at least be assured of finally having a long-term replacement for aging Luis Suarez as the 22-year-old Argentian has agreed to sign a five-year contract.